School system
The Swiss education system is among the best in the world and its state schools enjoy a very good reputation. All children living in Switzerland are entitled to attend a state school free of charge.
The actual structure of the state school system depends on the canton, so please bear in mind that the comments below relate only to state schools in the canton of Zurich.
Children must attend school (including kindergarten) for a period of eleven years. The school year starts in mid-August. Children who have turned four 31 July will join kindergarten in August. Compulsory schooling can also take the form of private lessons or attendance at a private school.
To fulfil compulsory schooling requirements in Switzerland, children aged 4 to 15 must be registered with the external page district school authorities (German) for the district in which they live.
Lessons take place five days a week, from Monday to Friday. Morning lessons are between 8.20 a.m. and 11.55 a.m., and in the afternoon usually between 13.45 p.m. and 15.25 p.m.
However, classes may start as early as 7:30 am and end at 5:15 pm. In day schools, teaching times may differ.
All school levels are taught in block times: Children attend school from Monday to Friday in the morning, usually for 4 lessons. In addition, they attend school on 2 to 4 afternoons.
The canton of Zurich grants a total of 13 weeks of school holiday, spread throughout the year: in autumn, at Christmas, in February (“Sportferien”), in spring and in summer. The summer holiday is the longest, lasting five weeks. The start and end dates of the holidays may vary from one school district to the next.
external page City of Zurich: School holidays (periods and individual days) (German)
external page Canton of Zurich: School holidays (periods and individual days) (German)
Where a child attends school depends on where they live. In the canton of Zurich, almost every municipality has its own kindergarten and its own primary and secondary school. The school authorities for the municipality of residence handles enrolment and decides on the allocation of kindergarten and school places as well as appointing teachers.
Information provided by the external page Office of Elementary Education of the canton of Zurich
Admission and enrolment of children who move into the area
All school-age children whose actual place of residence is in a municipality in the canton of Zurich are external page admitted to school (German) from the moment they move to the area, regardless of their residence status.
Additional lessons in German as a second language
external page German as a second language (German) is an additional course of lessons which helps school pupils whose first language is not German to understand lessons given in the language and quickly move to a mainstream class.
The teaching of religion and culture
external page Religion and culture lessons teach pupils about the world’s religions. They are part of every child’s general education and foster understanding of the modern world.
external page Information for parents and leaflets in Albanian, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Spanish, Tamil, Turkish, Arabic (some) and Russian (some).